The House of Representatives has requested that the Federal Government auction off all police barracks in the country.
The MPs also requested that the Ministries of Interior and Police Affairs work with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to analyze the worth of all federally owned barracks around the nation and declare a public sale for the same.
The House decision followed the acceptance of a motion of urgent public interest by Hon. Murphy Omoruyi on the need to improve the appalling living circumstances of Nigerian Police Force (NPF) officers.
Moving the motion, he recalled that in September 2020, the National Assembly passed the Police Reform Bill 2020, which was signed into law by the former Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari on September 16, 2020.
He said one of its core issues was to address the living conditions of the nation’s gallant police officers.
The lawmaker noted that the problem of adequate and dignified accommodation for police officers persists and has so far outlived all previous measures.Omoruyi stressed that between 2019 – 2022 over N5 billion was spent by the federal government on barracks renovations, adding that despite all efforts, barracks continue to fail to meet basic needs in their current state of disrepair and lack of maintenance.
The lawmaker pointed out that there had been robust national debates and calls for more community oriented policing strategies and having officers living amongst the general population, rather than in their secluded barracks, would significantly satisfy the calls and enhance public safety.
Omoruyi emphasised that the barracks method of housing for police and local law enforcement officers was a relic colonial practice that had since been abandoned by the same colonialists in their home countries.
He expressed worry that police officers and their families live in squalor, characterised by large cracks on the wall, bat-infested houses, leaking roofs and dilapidated structures for barracks across the country.
Omoruyi lamented that police officers had been tagged as corrupt, saying this cannot be divorced from lack of welfare services for them.
He said the public has lost confidence and respect in the country’s officers due to their poor conditions of service.
